Longview World of Wonders (LongviewWOW) is a hands-on children’s discovery center located at 112 E Tyler Street, Longview, TX. LongviewWOW is a 501 (c) (3) with a mission to inspire a lifelong love of learning by giving children the opportunity to imagine, create and explore in a hands-on educational environment. Longview WOW began as a museum without walls and was incorporated on August 8, 2012. Through a well-developed capital campaign that raised seventy percent of its $2.4 million goal, the board of directors purchased the present 17,007 sqft building and land on February 5, 2013. In addition, with funds raised from its capital campaign, LWOW was able to remodel and add permanent and rotating exhibits, provide staff, and pay operating expenses.
LongviewWOW is located in the heart of Downtown Longview which was designated as a cultural arts district by the Texas Commission of the Arts in 2019. As a participating organization in the cultural district, LongviewWOW collaborates with other organizations to promote the arts and provide an interactive and diverse learning environment serving children and families in a 75-mile radius of East Texas. The surrounding Gregg County population is roughly 120,000, representing 30,000 families in the service area. LongviewWOW serves eight public school districts, providing local students field trips and collaborative educational opportunities. A Museums for All program participant, we have provided reduced admission to 8-10% of our attendees.
LongviewWOW is celebrating its 6-year anniversary of providing families with opportunities for hands-on learning, discovery, and play. Looking to the future, Longview World of Wonder’s goal is to continue to grow the programming and special events to expose the children and families of our area to STEAM-rich learning through experiential play. LongviewWOW aspires to provide children with new opportunities to foster creativity and paths to learning. Future plans include creating new and unique exhibits that draw focus to the rich character of East Texas as well as updating current exhibits to include more experiential educational content.